Research paper Walmart/Target/Wholesfood
Compare and contrast the Annual Sustainability Reports and sustainability strategies of at least three Fortune 500 companies competing within the same industry. If you choose this option you should critique how well each firm presents its social and environmental responsiveness, taking into consideration the transparency, completeness, honesty, etc. Compare the sustainability reports of the firms against the leading benchmarks provided by the Global Reporting Initiative (http://www. Leapfrogging. Org/) or GRID. In addition to published materials by your focal firms, utilize sources in the business press, trade journals and of competitors to build a composite picture of the social and environmental performance of your firm and of its competitors, and critique your firms sustainability strategy. If you choose this option you must do the following three things: Evaluate: ; What are the most important social and environmental issues facing firms in the industry? What is the sustainability strategy the firm is pursuing? Is it defined? ; For the firms you have chosen, do you believe what they are measuring and reporting are the most salient factors their organizational stakeholders are interested in? ; Is the firm more stakeholder or shareholder focused? ; Do the metrics they derived for their sustainability reports lead you to believe that the company is on track towards sustainability as you or others (the GRID) define it? Why or Why not?
Compare: ; Once you have completed the evaluation step of each firm’s sustainability porting, compare each firm. How do they stack up against each other? Is one firm leveraging their ‘green initiatives’ better than others? If so how? Recommend: ; Are competitors following the Pearce and DOD strategy while your firm is struggling with the strategy Porter would advocate? Or vice versa? What should be changed regarding the firm’s sustainability strategy? What is not addressed, and what should be presented in another manner? Make a case as to whether you would be able to recommend the company as a “buy’ if o were responsible for managing a sustainable enterprise portfolio.
